Bihar Painting

Bihar painting has its distinct charm and appeal. Bihar painting is a reflection of the society of Bihar; the Bihar painting reflects the cultural heritage and the prevalent customs of Bihar.

Paintings represent the creative genius of man's urge and impulses and the Bihar paintings are no exception to this. The Bihar paintings have their roots in the Gupta period which later on is supposed to have evolved during the Palas.

Among the famous Bihar paintings are:

Patna Kalam - This is a 200 years old form of art that traces its origin to Humayun's exile to Persia, from where he brought a select set of artists to illustrate the Dastan-i-amir Hamza.

Madhubani Painting - This form of Bihar painting is exclusively practiced by the women folk of Mithila region. In fact, this form of Bihar painting pass down from generations; girls learn to paint with colors at an early age and this painting culminates in painting Kohbar (the nuptial room). All the religious ceremony related to the marriage are performed in the Kohbar; so this acquires great sanctity in the social life of Mithila.

Traditional Wall Paintings of Mithila - This form of painting seems to have existed from the epic period. This form of Bihar painting is a form of mythological mural paintings depicting Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

Moreover, talking about the colors used for these paintings, we can say that the Brahman folk-women artists of Mithila use deep fast colors for these paintings, such as deep red, green, blue, black, etc. Besides these colors, the Bihar paintings portray shades of yellow, pink, lemon colors, etc.

Therefore, it goes without saying that the Bihar painting reveals the psychology of the society and the moral values and customs that are concentrated at the root of the social life.